2012-02-17

Massive cracks in Shanghai's financial center

Literally. Liujiazui, the financial center in Pudong, is cracking under the strain of too many skyscrapers and the tallest one (Shanghai Tower) is still under construction.



For a very detailed discussion of the building above, see the SkyscraperPage Forum entry (currently at 60 pages): Shanghai Tower / 上海中心大厦 | 2,073 FT / 632 M | 128 FLOORS


According to this article in Caixin 632米高楼上海中心施工 引发陆家嘴沉降, the cracks are due to construction and Shanghai's soft land. Shanghai literally means on the sea and much of the land is sand. However, as a sign of current social mood, many Shanghai residents fear that it could be the total weight of the buildings (skyscrapers in Shanghai are clustered in the financial district of Pudong) and a catastrophe could occur. In the article, engineers said this type of ground disturbance is normal in Shanghai when doing construction. However, one engineer does lend credence to this fear.
Chief Engineer Yan Xuexin of the Shanghai Institute of Geological Survey said that a single high-rise building usually will have an evenly distributed settlement, so there will be little impact on the building itself. However, the group of high-rise buildings form a cohesive force, causing the entire city of Shanghai to have a certain degree, a certain area of uneven settlement, so much that it causes hidden dangers.
上海市地质调查研究院总工程师严学新曾经表示,对单个高层建筑而言,一般发生的都是均匀沉降,所以不大会对建筑物本身发生太大影响。但是,众多位置、规格不一的高层建筑形成合力,对整个上海市就会造成某种程度、某种区域内的不均匀沉降,甚至引发建筑安全隐患。

H/T: Chinasmack. Shanghai Ground Cracking Under the Weight of Its Skyscrapers

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